34 million books in print, Lauren Tarshis’s ‘I Survived’ series for kids tackles hard topics like 9/11, war and disasters

On September 8, 1900, a storm started brewing off the coast of Texas. Winds screamed and the seaside town of Galveston flooded. By the next morning, some 8,000 people were dead and 10,000 were left homeless.

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 remains America’s deadliest natural disaster, and the storm that claimed thousands of lives is at the center of a new children’s book.

Related: 12 children’s books ‘I Survived’ author Lauren Tarshis recommends for young readers

Now, I Survived series author Lauren Tarshis has used a century-old hurricane as the gripping setting for a story that feels as relevant as something set in the present time for “I Survived: The Galveston Hurricane, 1900,” which will arrives in stores September 7.

If you’re not familiar with the “I Survived” series, the stories are high stakes, action-packed and told through the eyes of a child who lived through a big event.

Tarshis is known for taking complicated and emotional topics and making them accessible to kids. Instead of hiding pain and hardship from young readers, who generally fall in the 8 to 12 age range, Tarshis trusts their ability to handle heavy ideas.

“In each of the books, I try to portray a realistic sense of grief – that you don’t snap back right away,” Tarshis said. “Each person processes grief in their own way.”

Tarshis, 57, who lives in Westport, Connecticut, has worked at Scholastic for 30 years and started writing in her spare time. The acclaimed children’s author has long served as the editor-in-chief of Scholastic’s Classroom Magazines, an educational resource for kids Pre-K through high school.

But what started as a sideline has become a kids’ literature phenomenon: The series, which has more than 34 million copies in print, started with the tale of the Titanic, published in 2010. Eleven years later, Galveston is the 22nd book in the series.

“It really combined my experience as a mom of four, and my experience on the magazines (Scholastic) and working with teachers,” she said. “My own children were not readers, and I was always looking for books they’d feel connected to, that were suspenseful and taught them something.”

Another “I Survived” installment that connected with young readers was her 2012 book about the September 11th attacks. It was so popular that a graphic novel was released this August, using the same storyline and text from the original “I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001.”

“The reason I wrote the book is because I got more than 2,000 messages from kids asking me to write about 9/11,” Tarshis said.

Still, she never anticipated writing about such a pivotal moment in our nation’s history, and one laden with complexities that are difficult for even adults to understand.

“How would I ever explain that to kids?” she said.

But when Tarshis attended book events at schools, kids would ask her to write this book.

“Librarians, teachers and parents started asking too, because they wanted help explaining it to children,” she said.

I Survived can be an entry point for kids to move onto larger books or foster a love of history, according to Brooke Sheets, senior librarian for the Children’s Literature Department of the Los Angeles Public Library.

“What’s interesting about the I Survived series is that it doesn’t just cover long past historic disasters created by man, like war or the Great Molasses Flood, but also natural disasters,” Sheets said.

The I Survived series is “crazy popular” with kids and fills a niche for readers who prefer history and non-fiction, said Jessica Palacios, the manager and book buyer at Once Upon a Time children’s book shop in Montrose.

“It’s important for kids to know there were survivors in these events, and people were able to come through,” Palacios said. “Kids who gravitate toward these historical moments can see a larger impact through these books, that we have ways of getting through these times.”

The September 11th book, like her others, touches on tragedy with the goal of helping youngsters understand why we talk about and remember sad events in our collective history.

Similarly, Tarshis said she heard from children asking her to write a story about the Galveston hurricane.

“It really represented a change in our understanding of hurricanes, and there’s a lot of Texas history in it,” she said of the Galveston book.

While kids may never be in a situation as grave as those in the books, many live with the possibility of hurricanes, tornadoes and fires.

“Here in California, a book like “I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018” can be a way for families to start a conversation around a threat that our communities are increasingly experiencing,” said Sheets.

For parents looking to encourage a child’s reading habit, the historical journeys throughout the I Survived series may do the trick. Not every child loves science fiction or fantasy. Sometimes, these small journeys through history hook early readers.

Tarshis started her bestselling series by writing a book her children would want to read. She advises parents to tune in to a child’s interests. Reading might be hard, but it gets more enjoyable with practice.

“The key is to find books they’re connected to,” she said. “And for struggling readers, we need to help them feel successful.”